Jixi and Jingdezhen
I took a trip to Jixi and Jingdezhen during National Day.
On the afternoon of October 1st, I took a high-speed train from Nanjing via the classic route ending at Huangshan, passing through Hangzhou and Thousand Island Lake, finally arriving in Jixi. After getting off, I took a taxi directly to the nearby scenic spot, Renli Village. Unlike traditional ancient villages, this "ancient village" felt more like a model village. The green tiles were as they used to be, and the white walls were painted quite white. The village is not large; behind the beauty of most southern Anhui ancient villages lies the overlapping mountains, and this place is no exception. One hour is enough to wander around Renli Village. The first day of National Day was as uneventful as the feeling this city gave me. (Not recommended)
October 2nd was the highlight. I got up at 6:00 AM and took a bus to the first ancient trail in China—the Huihang Ancient Trail. The ancient Huizhou people traveled this mountain path to seek a livelihood in Zhejiang: "If not cultivated in previous life, born in Huizhou; at thirteen or fourteen, thrown outside." Before climbing, I checked guides: starting from the Jixi section, you need to climb 13 kilometers uphill, then descend 5 kilometers from the highest point, Blue Sky Pass, to complete the entire route. If you want it easier, you can start from the Lin'an direction.
The most scenic part of the entire ancient trail is at Blue Sky Pass. From the mountaintop, you can look around, and the wind sweeps through the valleys surrounded by mountains, which cannot eliminate fatigue but gives a little meaning to those exhausted people lying on the grass. I didn't achieve the feat of completing a round trip in one day. After leaving Blue Sky Pass, I became physically exhausted after an hour and chose to return the same way. Every uphill slope I climbed was meaningful. Going downhill saved a lot of rest time, but my mistake was taking off my hat multiple times, causing my head to lose heat, and I had a headache all night. (Recommended for hiking enthusiasts)
Tips: Wear a hat, wear sports shoes with harder toe caps. China Unicom phones only have signal in the first 2.5 kilometers. There are many vendors selling water on the mountain. If you only climb once, there is no need to go back and forth in one day. The scenery is not that much; it's more about the physical interaction with nature (no spiritual aspect).
On October 3rd, Longchuan Ancient Village was the last stop in Jixi. Most of the sights are the Hu Family Ancestral Hall or memorial halls, because there are too many and too famous celebrities. That day, the residential area in the back half of the village was under renovation. It takes an hour to walk along both sides of the river. (Not recommended)
It is more recommended to combine Jixi with other cities. You can mix and match with Shexian Ancient City, Huangshan, Hongcun and Xidi, Chun'an County's Thousand Island Lake, and Wuyuan's Huangling.
On the evening of October 3rd, I went to the second city, Jingdezhen.
On October 4th, the charm of the porcelain capital Jingdezhen lies in the diversity of ceramic beauty. In the morning, I went to Sanbao Village, a village consisting of multiple personal studios. It takes about half a day to visit, mostly going in and out of studios. You can check out the art museum in the village.
In the evening, Taoxichuan truly opened an outsider's eyes. During National Day, Jingdezhen had the Letian Market on the 1st and 2nd, and the Taoxichuan Night Market from the 3rd to the 5th. Every street in Taoxichuan was lined with various stalls. The west side featured independent designer products, full of novelty.
On the morning of October 5th, I visited the Jingdezhen Ceramics Factory (the Letian Market also takes place here every Saturday morning). Half of this area sells common ceramic products at wholesale prices, while the other half is various private shops and photo spots. (Recommended if visiting on Saturday)
In the afternoon, I went to the Ceramics Museum (reserve in advance via WeChat official account). Fortunately, I caught the free guided tour at 2:30 PM, which lasted 80 minutes. There are two tours daily: 10:30 AM and 2:30 PM, with 20 people per batch. (Highly recommended)
In the evening, I visited the Ming and Qing Imperial Kiln Factory. Back then, Zhu Yuanzhang overthrew the Mongol Yuan Empire and established the Ming Dynasty, but the craftsmanship of the imperial kiln factory was completely preserved. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, this place exclusively produced porcelain for the imperial palace and imperial porcelain for the emperor to bestow upon officials. From then on, ceramics became inseparable from this city. Today, Jingdezhen continues to develop ceramic craftsmanship, and porcelain has integrated with people's lives in many ways. No ticket required in the evening. (Recommended in the evening)
On October 6th, I went to the Jingdezhen Ancient Kiln Folk Custom Museum, recommended by the museum guide. It is the only national-level tourist attraction themed on ceramic culture in China. Among them, the exhibition area of ancient kilns from successive dynasties and the folk custom exhibition area of ceramics are the highlights. Live demonstrations of ceramic production processes are shown, and inheritors of different ceramic schools display various ceramic objects and the development of different forms of ancient kilns. (Recommended)
As for food, if you can't eat spicy, be sure to say so when ordering. It's suitable to order one vegetable dish per meal. Note that Jingdezhen cuisine likes to add dried tangerine peel. The popular Fuzhou Lane's fried dough sticks with glutinous rice cake is not worth waiting in line for; it's just hot fried dough sticks coated with white sugar, sesame, and glutinous rice cake. Any store's freshly fried dough sticks have the same texture. The beef bone rice noodles at Fuzhou Lane are good, but be cautious about eating it in the morning because of the spiciness. For late-night snacks, you can go to Ouji Food Stall.
From this trip, I concluded a better travel itinerary arrangement: you can visit all of Jingdezhen in a weekend. The Imperial Kiln Factory and Taoxichuan should be visited in the evening.
